Within months of working at CDW, an IT solutions company, I realized that many of the Account Managers were having hard time finding products for Lenovo, a vendor I was responsible for.

The issue was that the Solutions Book, available in the Lenovo Solutions Center, was seriously outdated. The book contained old models that are no longer sold and the newer models that the customers are asking for were absent. The latest model was from February 28th, and was not being updated until it was taken down from the website.

In order to increase Lenovo sales within the CDW, I decided to create my own version of the book, so that the Account Managers and the Partner Specialists, who helped the Account Managers in finding the products, can find the latest products that meet the requirements from the customer.

I first contacted the top 10 Account Managers who sold highest in COGS for Lenovo for an example of what kind of information the customers gave them for an opportunity. Then, I also asked the other Account Managers about the problems they have and what they would like to see in the new “Configurator”.

Having collected the data, I made a prototype of the Configurator and asked the Lenovo representatives if they had any files from the past that is similar to what I am asking, and also asked them for any feedback on how to improve my prototype.

The Lenovo representatives had a file similar to it, but the latest version they had were from 2010. The few characteristics of that file was that it was almost 10MB in size, and it had too much information inside of it, resulting in terrible readability.

As the file was too large, it would take forever to download the file each time from the internal website, and as the information, such as rebates, spiff, and availability would continuously change, I did not wanted the Account Managers to download the file, but rather know where the file was online, so they could look at the latest version every time they accessed the file.

I also thought that it was quite cumbersome for the Account Managers to navigate between the different sheets to look at different types of device and searching for similar specs. So I made the file such that all the “searching” can be done on one sheet.

With all these in mind, the Searchable Lenovo Configurator was created : click here
* File dated April 24th 2017.
* As the blog does not support xlsm files, the file will need to be downloaded and macro enabled for it to work.

How to use file:

To fit the needs of the Account Managers, the file had continuously been upgraded and updated with the latest information (publicly available online from Lenovo’s website). The current version of the Searchable Lenovo Configurator is quite different from when it was first created, and contains new product lines, more information about devices, and it now includes monitors.

Although I was fascinated by sports cars since a young age, I’ve been thinking differently these days. I thought as long as its wheels go around and it will take me from one destination to another with no problems, the car is good enough. I was simply satisfied with my Honda Civic.

Maybe I wanted to stay humble and be like my dad, who never drove a foreign car and only drove Korean cars so that his clients would not be intimidated.

However, there has been a eureka moment that shattered my thoughts.

Recently, I had a chance to ride in my friend’s Audi A4. I was simply fascinated by all its features, how smooth the ride was, and how much horsepower and torque it has. The car had features that I did not imagine was possible.

I remember thinking to myself “forget being humble, I want a better car”.

Even then, after couple days have passed, I had forgotten all about it. I was back to my usual self, thinking that by 2021, I want to 1) pay off my OSAP debts and 2) save up enough money to purchase a luxurious car, but purchase a humble car. I wanted to invest or save the money for something more valuable, rather than purchasing something that will only deteriorate in value.

Then, I got to ride in the same friend’s brand new car: Audi S4.

It was even better than an A4. It had even more power, even more comfortable, and had even more features. The ride was more exciting. The engine… if the engine sound while stationary was like the purring of a cat, the sound it made while accelerating was like the roar of a tiger.

Driving back home in my lovely yet simple Civic, I kept thinking about how nice that car was and how elementary my car is in comparison.

This time, I could not keep myself humble. I could not tell myself to wait until I have plenty of surplus income to enjoy life before purchasing a luxury car. I simple wanted one. As soon as possible.

The moment I got home, I powered up my computer, went to Audi webpage, and configured an Audi to get an estimate.

Below is my next car goal/wants. Although I could afford to lease it for 48 months, I would not do that. My car is still relatively new and I still have my OSAP payments to make. However, as soon as my car mileage hits 100,000 km or as soon as I pay off my student loans, whichever comes faster, I will be purchasing it.

This template is designed for personal use, to help keep track of how and where one spends money.

As how one spends or saves money vastly differs from one person to another, I’ve tried to give this template as much freedom as possible, so the users can personalize the file to best fit their life and plan.

> Produced and submitted report on Creating Opportunity Program; proposed innovative new insurance program matching current and future needs of Korean population; proposed program would assist company to collect big data and provide a platform from which the company would produce personalized insurance services
> Produced a report on current trends and issues of life insurance industry in Korea
> Analyzed marketing and sales tactics and effectiveness of 7 regional headquarters; proposed new strategies to improve sales based on historic data and recent research results

> Participated in designing and building of website for K-Milk, a new brand and logo promoted by Korean Dairy Association
> Conducted market research on consumption habits and marketing strategies of fresh produce in domestic and foreign countries
> Promoted social media campaign; created and analyzed data base of participants’ responses

Seoul National Univ. Graduate School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
Intern Researcher
May – August 2011

> Assisted in designing and planning research; Participated in experiments using a participle accelerator in POSTECH; Performed data analysis on the experiment results; Research published in the Scientific Reports of the Nature Publishing Group